Photo by Lo Sarno on Unsplash Statistical analysis of amateur golf performance consistently reveals a counterintuitive finding: distance control errors on approach shots cost recreational golfers more strokes than directional errors, even though most golfers practice and worry about direction far more. The Statistical Pattern Shot-tracking data from systems used across recreational and competitive golf shows that amateur golfers are typically far more likely to miss an approach shot short or long of their intended distance than they are to miss significantly left or right of their intended line. A shot that's 15 yards short or long frequently finds trouble — a bunker, water, or simply a much longer subsequent putt — in a way that a shot 10 yards left or right of the pin, but still on the green, does not. Why This Happens Directional misses are usually caused by face-to-path errors, covered in our ball flight laws article , which tend to be relatively consistent for an individual g...
The Open Championship is the oldest major golf championship in the world — and the only one played outside the United States. Since 1860, it has been contested on the links courses of Britain and Ireland, producing a history that spans more than 160 years and encompasses every significant chapter in the story of professional golf. Here is the complete story of The Open Championship.
The Origins: 1860
The Open Championship was first played on October 17, 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. Eight professionals competed over three rounds of the twelve-hole links course. Willie Park Sr. won with a score of 174, two shots ahead of Old Tom Morris. The prize was a Challenge Belt — no prize money was offered. The winner in 1861 — again Willie Park Sr. — received £6. Over the following decades, The Open established itself as the definitive test of professional golf, with Old Tom Morris winning four times and Young Tom Morris winning three consecutive championships between 1868 and 1870, earning the right to keep the belt permanently.
The Claret Jug
Because no trophy was available after Young Tom Morris's permanent retention of the belt, The Open was not held in 1871. In 1872, agreement was reached between Prestwick, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to create a new trophy — the Golf Champion Trophy, universally known as the Claret Jug. The Claret Jug has been awarded to every Open Championship winner since 1872 and is the most recognisable trophy in golf. Unlike the Wanamaker Trophy, which is kept by the champion year-round, the original Claret Jug stays with The R&A. The champion receives a replica to keep.
The American Era
American players largely avoided The Open in the early twentieth century because of the expense and difficulty of transatlantic travel. Bobby Jones's victories in 1926, 1927, and 1930 introduced American greatness to the British game. When Arnold Palmer committed to playing The Open in 1960 — at a time when the championship had declined in prestige relative to the growing American tour — he began what became the modern era of The Open. Palmer's two victories at Birkdale in 1961 and Royal Troon in 1962 restored The Open's status as a must-play event for the world's best players.
The Greatest Opens
Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus's Duel in the Sun at Turnberry in 1977 is considered by many the greatest individual championship in golf history — Watson winning at 268, Nicklaus shooting 269, both of them playing golf of a quality that no one around them could approach. Greg Norman's 1993 Open at Royal St George's was a record-breaking 267 — the lowest winning 72-hole total in Open history. Seve Ballesteros's three Open victories embodied a charismatic, attacking style of golf that made him the most beloved champion of his generation. Tiger Woods's three Open wins — Sandwich in 2000, St Andrews in 2005, and Hoylake in 2006 — established him as the definitive Open champion of the modern era.
The Open Today
The 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is the 154th edition of the event. It features a field of the world's best players competing for the Claret Jug on one of the most historic courses in championship golf. The winner will join a list of champions that includes every significant player in the history of the game — from Old Tom Morris in 1861 to Scottie Scheffler in 2025.
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